[Propertalk] 4 Lent b 2018 - part 1

[Robert P Morrison]

Here's the draft for 4 Lent. This is part 1.

	THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  4 LENT b 

	NUMBERS 21:4-9    11th MARCH, 2018 

	EPHESIANS 2:1-10    PSALM 107:1-3, 17-22 

	JOHN 3:14-21 

	 “Death, be not proud,” words which open John Donne’s famous
“Holy Sonnet X”. The work tells us that “death is a feeble enemy
and concludes with the lines:  

	  ‘One short sleep past, we wake eternally 

	  But death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.’” 1 

	 Brave words indeed, especially when we think of loved ones and close
friends who are seriously ill or have died. And yet, they’re words
of extraordinary faith. 

	 No matter what our life has been like, how we’ve lived, whom
we’ve pleased and whom we’ve ticked off big-time; no matter what
we’ve done and left undone, our faith teaches us that God stands
with open arms all along the way, trying to reach into our hearts and
minds to explain not only that we’re never alone, but also that
nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from God and God’s love
for us. 

	 “By grace you (and I) have been saved,” wrote Paul to the
Ephesian Christians who were experiencing so many trials in their
lives. It was so hard to live as Christ-followers when they were being
ridiculed, when they were being harassed, when they faced abuse and
violence, both verbal and physical. When the Christians in Ephesus
were struggling with daily difficulties and were wondering if their
faith had any value and ability to give them hope; when the government
was doing everything in its power to demean them, and enslave them;
when all looked as if faith in God to give encouragement was
pointless, Paul wrote, “God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great
love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our
trespasses, (God) made us alive…” 

	 Paul knew what it was like to have the authorities chase him and try
to strip him of everything that gave his life meaning, so he could
write from that position not only to encourage the congregation in
Ephesus, but also to get them out of their seats to bring all kinds of
support to those who were scared. 

	 Paul knew that congregations struggled to find ways to deal with
anger and aggression. Paul knew what it was like to be embroiled in
really serious discussions with authorities who denied that everyone
in creation had dignity and equality in the eyes and heart of God. So
Paul kept emphasising that radical transformation is possible. Paul
insisted that one’s past should be put aside and that it should
never be used to intimidate or to belittle anyone. Instead, Paul said
that God’s grace was such that all were and would be drawn into
Jesus’ saving embrace; all, with no exceptions. 

	 THIS was the hope which was, is and ever shall belong to us. THIS is
why death is not to be feared, not physical death, not emotional
death, not even spiritual death, because God can and will draw us out
of all the sloughs of despond into which we may slip or be tempted to
fall. 

	 Yet, still, there are so many things which can make us feel that we
may be at the end of our hope, at the end of our confidence, at the
end of Jesus’ company. So often there are fears which confront us
and envelop us, which threaten to make us think that all is lost and
that joy, and love, and decency have been taken away forever. So
often, very real, concrete fears live not just under our beds, but
everywhere we go, every time we turn on the TV, or engage in
conversation. There is so much that is negative, because negative
sells and grows a vast and dark industry; there is so much that is
downright poisonous, that it’s as if we’re in danger of being
bitten by such snakes and terrified the Hebrew people in the
wilderness. 

	 They must have wondered if they’d ever get out of the darkness and
reach the land in which in which there wouldn’t be any scarcity,
there wouldn’t be anyone of whom to be afraid, there wouldn’t be
anything to prevent them from developing the individual gifts with
which God had blessed them. 

	 So what did God tell Moses to pass along to the people? It sounded
absolutely crazy and dangerous! Look directly at the snake, said God.
Take everything that frightens you, make something concrete which
symbolizes all of the danger, and so on. Look directly at it. Confront
it for what it is – something whose power is, ultimately, nothing
like as fierce as you thought it was. 

	 In Donne’s words,  

	“… some have called thee 

	Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not soe,” 

	 Look at it; confront it; call it out for what it is; and it shall be
the means of your healing. 

	 Most of us are aware of the symbol of two snakes intertwined. We
call it a caduceus. There’s one on the Chapel window in memory of
Dr. Lew Hurd. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it was,
mistakenly, used as a symbol of medicine and healing. The US Army
Medical Corps adopted it in 1902. But it is the ancient symbol of the
Greek god Hermes, the messenger, who allowed commerce to flourish. 

	 In actual fact, it is the Rod of Asclepius, the god of medicine and
healing, which was associated with this incident that Moses described
to the people as God’s gift. It is a single snake entwined around a
pole or a staff, with no wings at the top. Variously, this symbol has
been associated with the idea of resurrection and healing as well as
the physician’s ability to walk around, visiting those who were sick
and in danger. 

	 Either way, though, whichever symbol you imagine, both incorporate
snakes, often the object of phobias and phear. 

	
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